Backstage

Backstage: Ugh, more rumors - PSP and iPod AV

By Jeremy Horwitz ● Friday, October 8, 2004

If the third time’s really the charm, we might have to wait for the “color-screened iPod” rumor to surface once more before it actually happens. But yeah, for the second time in the last couple of months, the rumor is that Apple’s going to release a 60GB color-screened, digital photo ready iPod before Christmas. Thicker and heavier than the current 40GB model, the new iPod would supposedly sync with Apple’s iPhoto application (Mac only? Hmmmm) and likely include a higher-resolution (but still 2”) display, a video out port, larger-capacity battery, etc. The current rumor has it that the new iPod will play back digital photos, but won’t have its own media reader for transferring them off of a camera. I strongly, strongly hope that part is at least half inaccurate.

Since this rumor stuff turns out to be wrong on the particulars so often, I’m reserving judgment for when and if the actual announcement is made. But if the rumor turns out to be near-term true, I will be very anxious to see a new and improved color user interface, and disappointed if one isn’t there. Your thoughts?

On another rumor note, the other story making rounds is that Sony’s picked March 2005 (Japan) and September 2005 (USA) as launch dates for the PlayStation Portable, with an eye-popping price tag of $300 to further salt the wounds of delay. Then there’s the PlayStation 3, which according to current rumors Sony won’t release until 2006, but is trying very hard anyway to secure May 2005 (E3) magazine covers so as to ruin Microsoft’s Xbox 2 rollout. I don’t need to further editorialize on the PSP, but it looks like if there was ever a chance for Sony to be roundly dethroned in the electronic entertainment market, now’s the time.

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Comments

1

Posted by DeanDMX in Birmingham - England on October 9, 2004 at 1:23 AM (CDT)

2

It’s a combination of our text, a stock iPod 4G photo, and a screen image from the iPod Concepts gallery.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz on October 9, 2004 at 10:27 AM (CDT)

3

I believe this is what you are looking for. (Don’t worry, I gave credit)

Posted by John Tylko on October 9, 2004 at 12:03 PM (CDT)

4

You actually want a media reader built in? Which of the six or so formats currently in use would you include? What about next years formats?

Posted by Karl Armstrong on October 9, 2004 at 12:14 PM (CDT)

5

I think a media card reader is too proprietary for the scope of apple. Many PC laptops have them (for what reasons I am still undertain), but Apple’s do not.

...but I think (correct me if I’m wrong) the author was implying a media reader of Belkin’s CameraLink calibur; just a way to connect your camera directly to the iPod for gigs of digital photo room; not necessarily a card slot. Still, the prospect is very cool; I would trade my 3G iPod in for an “iPod AV” in a heartbeat!

Posted by Dean2008 on October 9, 2004 at 12:30 PM (CDT)

6

At the very least, I think an enhanced version of the Camera Link should be included, though I note that compatibility issues and camera battery drain are the key problems with Belkin’s offering. A media reader would be the way I would prefer to see it done, with support for CF, SD, and maybe Memory Stick; whatever the top 3 market share products are. Some people would recommend a PCMCIA device with interchangeable (6-in-1?) PCMCIA cards, and that would be fine too. A similar solution was available for Epson’s 785EPX printer, and worked nicely.

But if the iPod is solely used for picture _playback_ unless connected to a computer, I would be inclined to describe digital photo functionality as almost worthless, in so many words. I seriously doubt Apple would release something so limited.

8

Just saw your version - since it’s basically the exact same idea as ours, maybe just put add a direct link to backstage.ipodlounge.com, because that’s where I posted the photo. Thanks. :-)

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz on October 9, 2004 at 1:38 PM (CDT)

9

Okay, it should be all set now.

Posted by John Tylko, III in Lincoln, MA on October 9, 2004 at 1:59 PM (CDT)

10

I think the reality will be pretty close to the rumor. Think Secret has been extremely reputable in their predictions lately. Their calls about the 3G iPod were dismissed by many in the Mac rumor community (because it was such a radical departure from the original iPod layout, and even now is an anomoly) but they turned out to be dead on, right down to the button layout and dock.

I agree with the comments about not having a built in slot, but there needs to be some serious improvement over Belkin’s implementations for transfer accesories. Just like their voice recorder accessories, their photo accessories are really shabby, and there need to be more third party developers working on these, or Apple needs to make these accessories themselves. The transfer speeds are a joke. For people using digital SLRs and 2GB cards, it’s simply not practical and we’ll stick to our PowerBooks.

The slide show options are very interesting though. I would indeed love to bring a “Porfolio in my Pocket” and be able to hook up a slide show with music anywhere I go, or even just show folks my latest work on the small screen in a pinch. It will all be in the implementation. I hope that they figure out how to do the video out through the dock connector—there should be some extra pins left I recall. And while I love the iTunes/iPod integration, I loathe iPhoto as a product. It’s about the lamest photo management tool I’ve used, and the performance is still horrible. And as Jeremy pointed out, what does this mean for the Windows folks? Is Apple developing a version of iPhoto for Windows (I would seriously hope they would prioritize iChat A/V ahead of that so I could actually use my iSight camera with someone) or are they planning to work with a third party product, like Adobe Photoshop Album?

Another question for the color screen capabilities, is will it take advantage of album cover art?

12

This might be real as well, big companies like Nokia and Sony always end the year with a BIG release, won’t be surprising if we see a coloured screen + bluetooth integrated iPods in the shelves during xmas :D

Posted by James on October 12, 2004 at 10:30 PM (CDT)

13

For whatever it’s worth, I have iPhoto and use it routinely - given my personal camera setup, it is threadbare but almost perfect for 90% of what I do with digital pictures (a file importation bug is my only gripe).

My bigger question is whether I have any need to walk around with my digital photo collection, and on that note, my answer is definitely no. Speaking solely for myself, I think that there are much better uses for a color iPod screen than digital photo playback and album covers, and I seriously hope that some of those uses make their way into upcoming iPods. You can probably guess what my top two or three choices would be. (Hint: I’d need an app called iTV to handle one of them.)

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz on October 13, 2004 at 12:32 AM (CDT)

14

wrong, 6 months is a general estimate, im waiting for video, no one can object to that now that theres a photo ipod…

Posted by cpn.luckycharms on October 27, 2004 at 4:39 PM (CDT)

15

Hah people, told ya Apple prepared something great to complete the year 2004, here it comes - the iPod Photo!!!